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Cheers everyone, I'll download a few of those and see how it goes. What's this talk about load orders and script extenders? I'm very new to modding (aside from big works like BF2 Project Reality and so on) so I don't know what half of this stuff means. Also, if I download some from Skyrim Nexus and some from the Steam Workshop, will they clash or does it not matter where I get them from?

Not sure about Steam Workshop, but if you use the Nexus Manager exclusively you will be better off. More mods are available to you and it will help with load order, also will launch the game with the script extender running.

What's this talk about load orders and script extenders? I'm very new to modding (aside from big works like BF2 Project Reality and so on) so I don't know what half of this stuff means. Also, if I download some from Skyrim Nexus and some from the Steam Workshop, will they clash or does it not matter where I get them from?

Read the descriptions of mods on the nexus, they'll usually tell you if they have certain load order requirements. As a general rule of thumb, things lower in the load order will overwrite things that go above them, so if you have two mods modifying the same thing the one further down will take precedent over what comes before it. Boss can be very helpful to start out with, is easy to use, and will tell you about common conflics and other problems. Just download and run the GUI version and let it order stuff for you and if you run into trouble you can have a look at the load order manually. I haven't had any load order issues with Skyrim just running Boss with over 100 mods so it's not as big a deal as it was when modding earlier Bethesda games.

The Skyrim Script Extender is needed for a lot of mods so just download it and drop it into your Skyrim folder. It's nothing to really worry about but may need to be updated if Bethesda releases more patches.

About the Nexus vs Workshop, the Nexus with it's mod manager is generally a far better choice, but if there's something you find on the Steam Workshop it's fine to use that. They won't conflict or anything, it's just harder and messier to manage mods through Steam.

Not sure about Steam Workshop, but if you use the Nexus Manager exclusively you will be better off. More mods are available to you and it will help with load order, also will launch the game with the script extender running.

Good idea, but not all mods support it, which sucks when you use a lot of mods and want to uninstall any of them.
And as for load order, BOSS gets it done.

On Skyrim and Load Order (based on a half decade of experience with this engine, since Oblivion and the original Bash Patch):

There are some atrociously bad rumors - and thus, bad practices - circulating regarding Skyrim, mod compatibility and load orders. Allow me to set the record straight (and allow you to have a CTD/Mostly CTD Free game).

Defining Conflicts: What is a "real" conflict and which conflicts are safe for you, and your save game:

Mod conflicts arise when two mods edit the same object, setting, world cell, actor or leveled list. Or any other object edited by both mods. While sometimes this is ok, at other times this will break your game.

Example: Two mods add a town to the same location. Both edit navmeshes and land height. You can only have one of these mods loaded. NO third party tool will fix this.

Example: Two mods add weapons to a large number of leveled lists. You can load both of them, but the one you would last will "win" any conflict created by both mods editing the same list. A Bashed Patch MIGHT or MIGHT NOT fix this. It did with Oblivion, sometimes. And only sometimes.

Follow the below rules for modding, and you will be fine:

Rule Zero: Be. Nice. To. Modders. Always. Even the bad ones. Skyrim modding is HARD. They are doing this for free - often neglecting their own family/friend/gaming time in order to give us more to do. Never treat them badly. Make sure criticism of a mod is constructive.

1. One mod per change. If two mods change the same thing, ditch one. Period. Knowing what your mods do, and what they change, is your responsibility as a player.

2. NEVER "clean" a mod with TESOn Skyrim and Load Order (based on a half decade of experience with this engine, since Oblivion and the original Bash Patch):

There are some atrociously bad rumors - and thus, bad practices - circulating regarding Skyrim, mod compatibility and load orders. Allow me to set the record straight (and allow you to have a CTD/Mostly CTD Free game).

Defining Conflicts: What is a "real" conflict and which conflicts are safe for you, and your save game:

Mod conflicts arise when two mods edit the same object, setting, world cell, actor or leveled list. Or any other object edited by both mods. While sometimes this is ok, at other times this will break your game.

Example: Two mods add a town to the same location. Both edit navmeshes and land height. You can only have one of these mods loaded. NO third party tool will fix this.

Example: Two mods add weapons to a large number of leveled lists. You can load both of them, but the one you would last will "win" any conflict created by both mods editing the same list. A Bashed Patch MIGHT or MIGHT NOT fix this. It did with Oblivion, sometimes. And only sometimes.

Follow the below rules for modding, and you will be fine:

Rule Zero: Be. Nice. To. Modders. Always. Even the bad ones. Skyrim modding is HARD. They are doing this for free - often neglecting their own family/friend/gaming time in order to give us more to do. Never treat them badly. Make sure criticism of a mod is constructive.

1. One mod per change. If two mods change the same thing, ditch one. Period. Knowing what your mods do, and what they change, is your responsibility as a player.

2. NEVER "clean" a mod with TESVEdit. You will see where many people do this. Don't. Many of those "dirty edits" TESVEdit finds, aren't dirty. They are the game engine keeping track of cells, records, etc that were viewed/changed by a mod. Removing them with a third party tool, will often break mods. DO NOT believe otherwise.

3. Third party tools won't "fix" conflicts. I know you will hear differently. Just don't believe it. Its wrong.

4. Load Order: Generally, it should look like below, in this order:

-Unofficial Patches. NEVER Load anything before these unless the mod author says otherwise.
-SkyUI (only use one UI mod anyway, so load it at top)
-SKSE Mods (these do their thing by script and are rarely load order dependent)
-Mods which ONLY ADD new content/new worlds/new dungeons.
-Edit. You will see where many people do this. Don't. Many of those "dirty edits" TESVEdit finds, aren't dirty. They are the game engine keeping track of cells, records, etc that were viewed/changed by a mod. Removing them with a third party tool, will often break mods. DO NOT believe otherwise.

3. Third party tools won't "fix" conflicts. I know you will hear differently. Just don't believe it. Its wrong.

4. Load Order: Generally, it should look like below, in this order:

-Unofficial Patches. NEVER Load anything before these unless the mod author says otherwise.
-SkyUI (only use one UI mod anyway, so load it at top)
-Categorized Favorites, because you WILL need this mod
-SKSE Mods (these do their thing by script and are rarely load order dependent)
-Mods which ONLY ADD new content/new worlds/new dungeons.
-Mods which only add new stuff, but to Skyrim or vanilla locations
-Mods which CHANGE one/a small number of things originally found in the game
-Mods which change vanilla towns/cities/exterior world cells
-Mods which add new towns/cities/dungeon entrances to the vanilla world
-Mods which add a large number of items to leveled lists
-Overhaul mods
-Mods which adjust ONLY game settings
-Darker nights/interiors/lighting overhauls

Adhering to the above should make for a largely crash free game. Be advised, if for any reason during play you need to take a break longer than 10mins, go ahead and exit. I do believe the memory leak issue remains even now in Skyrim, and longer play sessions seem less stable then shorter ones.

two I remember liking were Jaysus Swords and Vals Crafting Meltdown. The first adds new craftable weapons, the second lets you meltdown ones you find to make metal ingots. Essential if you like crafting.

I also installed a better archery mod but I don't recall the name. Really made the game for me.

Re: mod conflicts: TES5 Snip is a very handy tool for checking which entries a mod affects. It also has a fairly simple copying function that can help smooth over small differences between mods so you can load them both together (eg. if Mod A adds Chocolate to Loot List X, but Mod B adds Caramel, only one will be appear in game. But with TES5Snip you can copy the extra entry from A to B, save over Mod B (back it up first so you can revert to the default if needed, obv), and both should appear.

It's otherwise very difficult to pin down what some mods affect and make any changes to it.

Personally, I don't bother with bashed patches, they seem very unreliable this time round. And while I used FOMM to install some mods, I've since moved over to Wrye Bash, which is much more reliable, and better at making custom load lists - FOMM had a very annoying habit of refusing to let me change them, and of dicking around trying to automatically update or check things I didn't want it to update or check.

I'll echo the endorsement for the Interesting NPCs mod. I spent a ridiculous amount of time just wandering around talking to people. Most of them were so well done, I had a hard time telling if they were added by the mod or were original work. I ran into one guy whose voice acting was so terrible I immediately stopped talking to him, but that was it.

"What were we talking about? Pegasuses, pegasii, that's horses with wings. This motherf*cker got a sword that talks to him. Motherf*cker live in places that don't exist, it comes with a map. My God."